We do not function well as loners. I have seen an old high school friend become an unhappy recluse. I know of a man who became angry with his church board, stopped attending services, and rejected all who tried to reach out to him. He said he needed no one except God. Yet he was a miserable old man who cried and cried when he became terminally ill.

In Ecclesiastes 4:8 we read about a lonely person who devoted all his energy to the pursuit of wealth. He didn't have time for friends or family. He worked very hard, yet his wealth didn't satisfy the void in his life.

After depicting the lonely man, the author of Ecclesiastes illustrated the advantages of fellowship and partnership (vv.9-12). He did so by referring to the value and productivity of two laboring together (v.9), of one helping the other when one falls (v.10), of two keeping each other warm on cold nights (v.11), and of two protecting each other when attacked (v.12). The closing example, "A threefold cord is not quickly broken," was a proverbial way of saying "there is strength in numbers."

God has designed us with a need for one another. So be sure to have friends, and be a friend. That's the only way to fulfill God's design for companionship.  — Herbert Vander Lugt